Expect the base 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback to start at around $20,000 in the U.S.
Paris Motor showgoers will be getting the first look at the all-new Honda Civic Hatchback later this month. But American motorists will have the first chance to buy the five-door when it goes on sale in September.
The hatchback is the latest variant to roll out as Honda wraps up the most diverse line-up of Civic models in its history, and U.S. buyers, in particular, will have more alternatives to choose from than ever, including sedan, coupe, hatch and high-performance packages.
The new Civic Hatchback will be based off the same, 10th-generation platform used for the other compact models. More significantly, it will mark the first time Honda has offered a five-door version in the U.S. in over a decade, since the seventh-generation Civic was replaced.
And while the sedan, among other variants, will be produced at Honda’s American operations, the new Civic Hatchback will be imported exclusively from the makers assembly plant in Great Britain.
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The Hatchback will offer notably more interior space than the Civic Coupe or Sedan.
Honda will offer a variety of different engines, depending upon which of the 70 global markets get the new hatch model. That includes both diesel and gas, turbo and naturally aspirated powertrains. For the States, the options – at least at launch – will be limited to two versions of the same, basic 1.5-liter inline-four. In the LX, EX and EX-L trim levels, the turbo-four will make 174 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque. Buyers of the Sport and Sport Touring versions will get that bumped to 180 hp and 162 lb-ft.
The Hatchback will also be served up in Si and Type R models before Honda wraps up the roll-out of the Gen-10 Civic. They are expected to use a beefier 2.0-liter Earth Dreams turbo engine that could see the horsepower numbers jump as high as 305.
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The new Civic Hatchback will be the first 5-door version for the U.S. market in over a decade.
Some reports suggest we may get a sneak peek at the Type R in Paris in just a couple weeks. It is not expected to start rolling into global markets until next September, however.
The initial hatchback version will pair that 1.5-liter engine to either a six-speed manual or a six-speed CVT. Both will drive the front wheels, with no all-wheel-drive version in the works. For that configuration, Honda will send you over to its crossover family. Look for fuel economy in the 31 City, 40 Highway, 34 Combined range for the de-tuned trim levels.
While sharing basics, including the underlying architecture, with the latest Civic Coupe and Sedan models, Honda suggests it has made a number of updates to the Hatchback, starting with its suspension. The five-door features a multilink rear, with four-stage adaptive damping on premium models.
Compared to the gen-nine hatch – which Americans didn’t get a crack at – Honda says it has trimmed more than 35 pounds of mass, despite adding more content. That’s despite the fact that the new model is longer, wider – and lower – than the outgoing hatchback. It will deliver notably more interior space than the current sedan and coupe packages.
U.S. buyers will initially be offered two different versions of the same, 1.5-liter turbo-four.
Like the rest of the Honda Civic line-up, look for upgraded materials choices, especially on high-line time packages. And there’ll be a lot more in the way of electronic content, starting with the latest, touchscreen-based infotainment system.
On the safety side, that will translate into a pre-packaged suite, dubbed Honda Sensing, that will include such technologies as Collision Mitigation Braking, Road Departure Mitigation and Adaptive Cruise Control with Low-Speed Follow.
Though Honda has not yet released pricing, the 2017 Civic Hatchback is expected to start around $20,000, roughly the same as the base sedan model.
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